EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Gladly Beyond
(Brothers Maledetti Book 1)
(Brothers Maledetti Book 1)
by Nichole Van
Gladly Beyond, the first book in the Brothers Maledetti series by Nichole Van is FREE to 20 February.
Also available: Love’s Shadow and Lightning Struck, both ON SALE for only $0.99 each to 23 February.
This book blast and giveaway is brought to you by I Am A Reader as part of the Romance is in the Air promotion.
Description
An ancient curse, fractured at the birth of three brothers. Two strangers helplessly drawn to each other. A love story two hundred years in the making.
Claire Raythorn arrives in Florence, Italy, shattered, alone, and anxious to rebuild her life - preferably one without men. But she soon finds herself hunted and haunted – literally - when a mysterious stalker dressed like Mr. Darcy from BBC central casting appears in her photos. And only her photos. Who is this man? And what does his ghostly presence mean?
Dante D’Angelo simply wants to safeguard his brothers, despite the family curse that hounds his vision. But then Claire Raythorn walks into his life, untouched somehow by his curse. Soon, everything Dante thought he knew about himself starts to unravel, dragging Claire down with him.
Set against the lush backdrop of Florence, Italy - both past and present - Claire and Dante fight for a future together. But, first, they must uncover their shared past ...
Excerpt
I’ve always thought Italian cities are like guys I knew in college:
Rome—the hot frat boy I was dying to go out with (and I did, and it was awesome). But, turns out, everyone dated Rome.
Naples—Rome’s frat house roommate. The guy on no sleep and his tenth can of Red Bull. No one messed with him cause he knew people who knew people . . . catch my drift . . .
Venice—the dreamily gorgeous philosophy major. Brilliantly eccentric but exotic enough that no one quite knew what to make of him.
Milan—the second-year MBA student who was big on power-ties and power-lunches. Basically, the organized guy who held everyone else together.
And then there was Florence.
Firenze, to those who knew him.
Quiet and unassuming. When we first met, I wondered what all the fuss was about.
But Firenze . . . he was a subtle seducer. If I asked, he could talk for hours about art and history. But, generally, Firenze simply listened. Peaceful. Steady. Ready to shoulder my sorrows.
Firenze is the guy I never got out of my system.
***
I hit the ground floor and took two steps toward the large wooden front door.
How would the next few weeks play out? Like being a contestant on Survivor? The Great Race?
A male voice stopped me. “Just the person I was waiting for.”
I closed my eyes.
Nope. Things were shaping up to be The Bachelorette.
Honestly.
Pasting on my polite grin, which truthfully was more of a grimace by this point, I turned around.
“Mr. D’Angelo.”
“Dante, please.” He stepped out of the shadows at the base of the stairs. A window in the stairwell illuminated half of him. Even that half was huge.
Whereas I looked down on Pierce and was eye-level with the Colonel, I had to look up, up at Dante. At five ten myself, it takes a lot to make me feel short. But he somehow managed it. He had to be at least six four and linebacker-wide. Did he play football in high school?
His dark, wavy hair had been smoothly slicked back when he arrived earlier. But I had watched it creep forward as the morning went along until a section of it came loose, swinging down to kiss his jaw. My fingers itched to brush it back.
Dante was the type of man I had always had a sweet tooth for. Until I learned, oh-so-painfully, how bad for my health they could be.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“This is my first book by Ms. Van and I will definitely be reading more by her! She really did an amazing job of sucking me in! I got mad when real life got in the way of my reading time!” ~ Kathy Jo
“The thing I like about Van’s writing is that she builds up the love between hero and heroine in plausible increments. I think that’s why I always end up reading her novels in one sitting until the early morning hours; I know that in the NEXT scene the characters are going to finally realize their love. But then you get to the next scene and you simply want more and more. And I mean that in the best possible way.” ~ Sarah B
“Wow what a well written adventure. This book kept me on my toes from the very beginning, I couldn't figure it out and was really blown away by the creativity of author. The story line is brilliant. The love story was well done and characters believable and endearing. I'm so excited I get a whole family to read about.” ~ LoveBooks
“Witty banter, engaging characters, delightful story easily taking on a magical Italian adventure. And clean! I love that I can trust this author and not worry I'm unexpectedly going to be somewhere I don't want to be. All the surprises in her stories are good ones.” ~ Linda Maxwell
“I found this book to be interesting and different, so much history touched upon if only briefly in the past lives of the characters. Very well done.” ~ Elaine Littrell
About the Author
Nichole Van is a writer, photographer, designer, and generally disorganized crazy person. Though originally from Utah, she currently lives on the coast of Scotland with three similarly crazy children and one sane, very patient husband who puts up with all of them. In her free time, she enjoys long walks along the Scottish lochs and braes. She does not, however, enjoy haggis.
More books by this author:
Giveaway
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